A - ; ..i v. " i " HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. NIL DESPERANDUM. Two Dollars per Annum. III DG WAY, ELK COUNTY, PA.j -..THURSDAY, APIUL 26, 1877. NO. 10. : ' Tho Sprlntf Bird. Dear little blue bird, . " Herald of spring; - Swallow this cough drop ?'l'oor little thing! Warbling go hoarsely Of April's approach) - Hunting around for a Bronchial troche. IW.litUo bine bird, . Don'tjyou go off, 'Tie up your little neck, Doctor that cough. ' Soon April violets, Kissed by the breeze, 1 Will Bhiver and wince as they Uxt to your sneeze. Don't be discouraged yet, Herald of spring; Shake all the icicles . Off from yonr wing. 1 Who knows what wonders Cough care may do; Sing, little blue bird "At-chee! At-ohee!" BARBARA'S DIFFICULTY. That' Barbara Hawkins owed a good deal to her step-mother was a fact that she could not have concealed from herself if she had tried. Her father's house had been a very home of discomfort during the dull interim be tween her own mother's death and the arri val of the youthful and winning stranger who had been somehow persuaded bv Stpuire Hawkins to "come and take keer of his lit tle darter." The history, of the next five years, in which slic herself had grown from girlhood to womanhood, included . all the genuine sunshine of Barbara's life, and she knew to whom that change, and a good many other excellent things, were due. Then, since the squire had been gathered to his fathers, what a notable manager had Widow Hawkins proved herself for the very moderate property he had left behind him !, It was just there that the difficulty was now coming in, for that which, with such good management, had kept the two women very nicely so long as thev lived together, could continue to do so onfy under justthnt state of allaim. The widow's Bhare, if set apart by itself, would be only another name for poverty. True, and yet what suitor, or at least which, pne of the two now nearest to a proper condition for consideration, would care to " marry a mother-in-law, and a step-mother at that, as well as a wife? " And she understands it," said Barbara to herself that September afternoon, "as well rs I do. She's as polite to both of them as if they were courting her instead of me. I must say it's been very convenient once or twice, for they both like her. In fact, everybody likes her, and that's what makes my position so very peculiar." . A very pretty girl was Barbara Hawkins; even prettier than her step-mother, and that was saying something, in spite of the widow's thirty years. . A bit of a belle, too was the squire's " heiress" in that unambitious rural com munity, and by no means without some characteristics which put the village gos sips at times in mind of " Squire Hawkins' fust wile." At the present juncture, however, the public opinion of the Dorcas Society was more than usually perplexed. The best judges nl Mich matters' were inclined to " guess Bill Emmons is a leetle ahead," although t!.c:' was sure to be followed by the remark : . '' But then, you know, Dan Glo ver's got ten dollars to 'Bill's one, and he's a mighty sight stiddier." And Barbara was in a worse quandary about it than the Dorcas Society knew how to be, for at times she almost suspected her heart of threatening an impertinent inter ference before her head could have a fair chance. "She'd be entitled to a third, I sup pose, soliloquized the fair maiden, " and she's a wonderful hand with her needle. There's no danger of her starving. There's lots of folks'd be glad enough to have her come and live with them." And Barbara did not know it, but a train of thought ve,ry nearly related to her own was at that moment passing through the mind of the widow, as she stepped lightly to and fro aiming the household duties, of which she kindly relieved her step-daughter. "I don't hear the piano," murmured the soft, low voice of the widow, "and yet I know she wanted to practice that new piece. Young Kmmons'll be here this evening. I ought not to say a word in such a matter. She's old enough to decide for herself, but why can't she see that Dan Grover's worth live hundred of him? not to mention his big farm, and that's something nowadays. I won't put that in her head, however not for the world. I've paid dearly enough 'for making just that sort of a mistake, lietter have gone out to service or taken in sew ing. That's what I may have to do when Barbara's married." The neat, tidy figure . paused in the kitchen doorway as she said that,- and a shnde of darkness swept across her face. ' ' " Live in the house with Bill Emmons for the master of it?" she exclaimed, after a paused. "Not I, indeed! She won't have sense enough to settle on Dan Grover, I'm afraid. Would I stay, then, if she did? Not so long as , I could earn or beg any other shelter!" The last exclamation came out with un necessary energy, and the widow caught up a broom and made an immediate assault on the kitchen floor. The sweeping was very unnecessary in deed. Barbara Lad clearly misunderstood her step-mother, and the widow had also failed to penetrate the mind of the squire's pretty -and sensible' representative. That was only too good a reason why the sheet of music forwarded by Mr. Emmons had received so little attention that after noon. Barbara's morning walk had carried her post the fine old homestead of the Grover?, now the sole property of the present family representative, and she had noted only too precisely the renovating and beautifying process on which Pan was expending half the proceeds of that year's liberal wheat crop. Carpenters, glaziers, painters; and all the Dorcas Society was in arms, she knew, about the extravagant waste with which the old-fashioned interior was transforming. More than one village critic had added to his other charitable thoughts the sur mise: "Looks kinder bad for Bill Em mons;" and Barbara herself could have as sured them of the correctness of their rea soning. - She was too kind hearted, however, not p 44 W.bewelf I " So much th better too, for Mrs. Hawkins. Neither Dan nor I would object to her living at the old place till we could 1ind a buyer. I only wish she could raise the money and buy it her self." ' It wm, therefore, as the mistress nt the renovated mansion behind the maples at the turn of the road that Barbara Hawkins was considering herself when tea time came, and she was quite willing to hurry back into the parlor while her ready handed step-mother supervised their solitary "help" in putting away the tea things. By the time poor Bill Emmons made his appearance, after his long day's drudgery in the one law office of the village, where he was the junior, and therefore perhaps the working, partner by that time Barbara was ready, civilly as she received him, to wish he would postpone his call until she could " receive him in so much better style." And yet that night, of all nights, the young lawyer had made up his mind to put his fate to the test, " and win or loose it till." Not a bad fellow was Bill, and he had more than once reflected how charmingly convenient was the location of the Hawkins homestead, and what a tremendous lift the possession of that and the productive little faim belonging thereto would give to a struggling young lawyer like himself. The fact that he was over head and ears in love with Barbara made tho whole affair abso lutely beautiful. Sad was the trial to his impatient feel ings, therefore, when all the eloquence of which he was master and he had long considered himself master of the situation as well only resulted in obtaining for him a promise from Barbara that she " would consult her step-mother." "Such a change it would make for her if I should leave her?" sighed Barbara. "Not nt all, not at all," eagerly ex claimed Bill. " She could live with us, vou know. Everybody likes her. I'm sure I do. She wouldn't be in the way at all." But vain was all he could say or do, ex cept that Barbara's vision of the Grover farm and hou?e may have receded some what as she listened to the pleading of her suitor. She almost "hoped Dan might not' come that evening, for not only the present situation had its charms, but it might have itB perils as well. Dan Grover was not a man to be trilled with, she knew, for all his quiet, self contained ways. And so it was with something of a feel ing of relief that Barbara listened, at last, to the bur of the big kitchen clock striking nine. It was at the same instant that the shadows of two who were walking side by side in the moonlight fell on the gate in "a singularly unified manner; and then, as the gate opened, Barbara sprang to her feet with a slight exclamation. She had been sitting close to the low window seat, and she had not seen fit, or had forgotten, to light a lamp. There may or there may not have been any cause for surprise, but'the way of it had been this: No sooner were the tea things out of the way than Mrs. Hawkins remem bered an errand she had in the village, and had s'.ipped quietly out to perform it. Nor would so simple a matter have taken two long hours, but that, just as the widow was stepping across the little foot-bridge at the brook, the form of a tall, broad shouldered, vigorous man of, say, thirty-five summers i-tood before he1, and a deep voice re marked : ' " Bight about face, please. 1 want a bit of a talk with you, and there'd be no chance for it at the house." Not a word said the widow, as Dan Gro ver drew her arm in his, but she thought, " If he wants to speak of Barbara, he's right, for Bill Emmons must be there bv this time. What a fool she is! He don't begin to compare with Dan." It must be confessed, however, that it seemed wonderfully pleasant, even when Dan tinned up the shadowy lane toward the grove, and when he seemed dispused to put off his express business: and to talk of his farm and his house, and at last of, him self. "I have everything around me fixed as nicely as I could ask for," he remarked at length ; " but I grow lonelier every day. The fact is, I've determined to have a wife, if I can jet the one I want; but there's only one in all the wide world. I'd be lonelier than I am now with any other." " Why don't you speak to her, then ?" said the widow, with a half-ehokcd feeling in her throat. "She's a very sensible girl, but I don't think it would lie right for me to try to influence her. I believe a woman has no right to marry without loving." (juick ns lightning very different from Dan's ordinary calm, slow style was his responsive query: "Have you nl ways been of that opinion? Have you acted o'n it?" The plump, soft hand' on his arm was jerked away in an instant, and Barbara's step-mother was almost sobbing with angry and wounded feeling, as she stepped back from him, exclaiming: "How dare you! What have you to do with that? Ask Barbara for her secrets, if you will. Mine are my own." " Exactly' responded the steady minded Dan, but his voice was shaking now in spite of his self-control. "You have told me part of your secret, Marian Hawkins, whether you meant to or not. I knew you could never have loved him. Now I will tell you mine. You are the one woman without whom I must forever be lonely. Y'ou have been onlyf too faithful to Bar bara, or you would have seen it before." Rapid, earnest, passionate, grew the strong man's words as he uttered them, and he closed with a Biidden forward movement. Before the widow knew it, Dan's arms were around her, and even her tears betrayed her. It was too late for anything but to let Dan have his own way. Such a willful fel low he was, too. And when at last the widow insisted on going homeward, their arrival at the gate was signalized by just such another theft as he had perpetrated twenty times already, for Barbara's ex clamation had been simply : ' Kissed her ! 3 Never was a lamp lit so quickly in all the world before; but, Toetween the finding and the scratching of the match. Bill Emmons managed to say for he was a fellow of ex-" cellent mind " 1'erhaps, Barbara, that may remove some of our difficulties." And Barbara made no reply ; but when Dan and the widow came into the parlor, it was not easy to say which of the two women was blushing the most violently. "It's all right, Bill," remarked Dan. " I don't know that any explanations are re quired. You have our entire consent." The visions of the newly painted house had faded from the mind of Barbara Haw kins, but it was Dan's remark that called her attention to the manner in which she was clinging to the arm of Bill Emmons. The latter was equal to the occasion, how iver, for he replied : " Well, so long as I've got Barbara's I don't mind having yours;" and then be added, quickly s " I say, Dan, you and I are two fellows of remarkably good sense." So Barbara's difficulty about her step mother's future as well as her own was re moved from her entirely, and, curiously enough, Dan Grover spent the remainder nt hisnuturnl lifcin the unbroken assurance that neither he nor his admirable wife h;,d ever known but one love. The Teamsters of '5H. Mr, George Lowery, of Haverhill, Mass., is one of the few survivors of the body of teamsters for the murder of whom, while under the Mormon escort, Brighnm Young is alleged to have issued an order ou the nineteenth of April, 1858. Mr. Lowery is very positive that the order had reference to the party of which he was one, and not to the party so bru tnlly murdered at Mountain Meadow the September previous. The survivor states that he was a teamster in Oencrnl John sou's expedition ngainst Utah iu 1807. He and eight other teamsters separated from that command ond started for Cali fornia. They got lost iu tho mountains, wandered about for a month, finally com ing out into Molnda valley, where they were captured by a Mormon sergeant and taken to Box Elder City. From thence they were tnkeu to Salt Lake City. At that point n party of forty-two team sters were gathered, who wanted to go to Cnliforniit, and Colonel Lee, thou iu command there, gave permission for their departure, turning them over to Captain Smith, with an escort of seventy-two men, proposing to accompany them to Castle Rocks, a distance of 150 miles. Before starting they accidentally heard of the order from Brighnm Young for their mnssncre at a point 100 miles away, but concluded to arm themselves nnd take the risk. They purchased guns and ammunition of apostate Mormons, the guns being takou apart and secreted with their ammunition iu sacks of flour, con stituting pnrt of their supplies. The party of forty-two were only allowed to take one double barreled gun aud a re volver. The teamsters and their escorts had separate enmps, and nt the end of the tirst dny's march, ou entering the camp for the night, the teamsters prepared their guns and were.realy by morning to give 121 shots without reloading. In the morning the Mormons were astonished to find an armed party in charge, but moved on in another day's march, which took them fifty miles away. Ou the morning of the third day the Mormons announced their determination to leave the party there, instead of accompanying them to Castle Rocks, nnd did so, return ing to Salt Luke City. Had the team sters been unarmed t hey would doubtless have been slaughtered iu obedience to Brigham Young's order. They proceeded in snfety.reaebingCnliforniain Juue,1858. She Couldn't Spare her Darling:. A young couple from Lebanon, says the Ncies, nppeared nt the office of a squire to get married. The squire, who had beou seen before, agreed to do the job nt the lowest market price." The lady, a beautiful blonde of twenty sum-' mors, looked gay and happy, while the couutenance of the gentleman was care worn. The squire meant business, nnd was just about looking up the form book, when the thought struck him that it was his dutv first to learn the ages of the parties. The question "How old are you ?" had only been propounded to the young man, when, before lie could nn swer, in rushed the mothers of the groom aud bride, almost breathless with excitement. A lively scene followed. The young man, still in his teens, see ing bis mother enter nnd taking in her intentions at n glance, joined with her tit once in protesting loudly ngainst tho imposition about to be consummated, exclaiming : "I was only in fun; I am too voung yet," the mof her hammering on the desk with her fist and crying out : " I can't spare my boy, my darling. He's under age. I'll prosecute the squire if he does it." The would-be bride and her mother, equally excited aud wildly gesticulating, insisted on the ceremony, saying : " Now or never," " Squire do your duty," "A bargain is a bargain," "No backing out !" Meanwhile the wit nesses (all females), who had gathered by request fled in terror to the adjoin ing room, leaving the bachelor squire to tho mercies of the contending parties. The combatants cooled down, the would be bride agreeing to wait a few' years longer, at tho risk of becoming an old maid, until her intended has attained three times seven. What Will Be Done. The well and entirely satisfactorily tried experiment of young women ns clerks at railwny stations in Euglnud, the Rochester Union says, will be adopt ed by the Erie railway. It seems that Mr. Jewett, while in .hngland recently, made a thorough examination of the system, and was so pleased with its workings that he intends, with the con sent of the bondholders and officers of the line to adopt it. We can imagine what might possibly, probably would occur, should he carry the innovation into effect. Railroad ware would at once ensue. The Erie would hardly announce that on and after April 1 the Erie bog gage would be checked and the Erie tickets be sold by a corps of lovely blondes, before the New York Central would bill the city with brunette paper, announcing that on the first of May a troupe of beautiful brunettes, secured in Europe at an enormous expense, would smash the baggage, money purses, and hearts of passengers via the New York Central. Then the Michigan Southern would put on the road not only ticket sellers, but conductresses, brakesmisses aud sleeping car porteresses, with special instructions to look after the comfort of passengers. Then the Baltimore and Ohio would surge out with a splendid lot of Circassian sopranos to sing iu their parlor civts, and to otherwise relieve the tedium of a long journey. And in fact there is no telling where this progress would end. Mr. Jewett had better think of this before he decides. Vermont. The sugar season brings to mind the saying of John G. Saxe, that Vermont was noted for four staple pro ducts oxen, maple sugar, girls and horses: The first are strong, The last are fleet, The second and third exceedingly sweet, And all uncommon hard to beat. Two Storied. A Massachusetts gentleman, just re turned from over the Canadian border, tells us these stories: He was in the hotel general accommodation room when two veterans of the (hotel) bar, laying schemes for a drink, began to tell stories to each other for his benefit. " These are nwful hard times," said one. "I never saw such times before, except when I was in Ohio, an' then I was hard Eut to 't to git along. Nothin to do. I ad a yoke of Bteers, but they wan't earnin' nothin'. But I lived right on the rood the Western immigrants went over every day. So I dug a hole in that road at the . foot o' the hill, near my house, turned a livin' spring o' water into 't, nnd made a good mud hole. Well, when the immigrants came along, every day there would be one or more teams git stuck in my mud hole, nu' they would see my steers standin' out doiu' nothin', nn' they would send up nn git me to come an' help 'em out; an' Inlwruz charged ns much as $5 a lift. Well, I kep' that mud hole right up in good re pair till I made $25,000 out on't, an' then I sold it out for 83,000, nn' moved up here." Story number two was the other Munchausen's companion piece for the yoke of Bteers. " When I was a choppin' I could chop some, you know an' folks used to nsk me how much I could do in a dny. ' Have you ever tried it?' says they. 'No, never,' says I; never but once, nn' that wa'n' really a try.' You see, jest to show 'em what I could do, I got up one winter morn in' afore light an' ground up my ax sharp, oh, jest ns sharp, an' went into the woods. An' I chopped like sixty till about three o'clock iu the a'ternoon, when I thought it was as much ns I could pile afore sundown, an' I went to pilin'. Well, when I had it ail piled up it measured twenty-seven cord. An' then I knew somethin' was wrong, for I knew at the rate I had been choppin' it oughter be more. So I went back nu' begun lookin' 'round to see what the tronble wns. An' there, right nt the fust tree I cut in the mornin' wns my ox hend. You see, the thing wns loose an' slipped off, nu' I had been choppin' nil day with the bare helve." Precautions Agninst Fire. If great fires or small are frequently due to simple causes it is also true that all such conflagrations can be prevented by equally simple precautions. We have only to observe how fires generally originate in order to take the proper measures for guarding ngninst them. Woodwork unprotected enters too large ly into the construction of our public nud private buildings. It furnishes ready food for tho flames. -.,Then wood work should not bo tised so much and should be guarded by masonry or some non-conductor of flame.' .Wooden staircases become mre-de?th traps dur. ing fires. From their structure they burn and carry the names rapidly from the basement to tho top of a building Then we must modify our stuir building and use iron nioro extensively. Eleva tors and dumb waiters become fire flues of the mot dangerous kind. They should be fitted with sliding or folding horizontal doors on each floor, so ns to cut off the draught nt the first alarm of fire. Large buildings, such ns hotels, should have coils of knotted rope long enough to reach to the ground ready at each window that does not open on a regular five escape ladder. These con bo used very quickly by tho inmates who are cut off from any other means of egress. All large buildings, such as theaters, hotels, fnctories and ware houses, where many people assemble or are engaged, should be divided into sections by fireproof walls fitted with iron doors. By these means the tire cnu bo confined to the section in which it breaks out nnd the general danger lessened. No storage of iu flammable materials should be permitted iu uny but vaulted basements with iron doors. Mutches that ignite by friction on ordinary sur faces should not be used. Thus, looking over the long list, of causes of fire, we find that they suggest preventives, which, if wo only adopt them, will re duco the chances of danger from the probable to the possible. JVcio York Herald. A Desperate Situation. The company belonging to Montgom ery Queen's circus pussed through the public streets of San Francisco. The lust wagon in the caravan consisted of a cage containing a lion and lioness, and tiger and their keeper. The tiger crouched stealthily in one corner of the cage, the lioness in another, nud between them snt the keeper. During the entire parade tho lion manifested a good deal of uneasiness at the presence of the tiger in the cage, nnd made several at tempts to approach it, but was prevented from doing so by the keeper. When op posite the Nevada block, on Montgomeiy street, however, tho two animals man aged to rush upon one another Then followed one of the most exciting scenes imaginable. The keeper rushed in be tween the iufuriated animals for the pur pose of separating them, and the curious and horror-stricken crowd rushed in stinctively toward the cage to render assistance, were it potsible. While en guged in separating the beasts, the lion seized the keeper's thigh and drove his teeth deep into the flesh. The excited crowd on the outside then began to raise their voices in nlarm, but the mnn whose life was thus placed in jeopardy coolly told them to be quiet, and seizing an iron bar he struck the lion on the head Beverul times, finally compelling him to release las hold and return to ins comer, Blood flowed freely from his wounds. iiivins Iu. A story is told of two worthy New England deacons between whom a bitter feud had long existed coue'irniug some contested point. Neither wouli yield, ana ine matter tmentenea to be handed down to the next generation, when one day Deacon Smith nppeared before his old enemy and solemnly paid " Brother Jones, it is a shame that this quarrel of ours should bring scandal upon the church. I have prayed earnestly for guidance in the matter, and have come to the conclusion that yon must give iu, for I cannot," Riotous Soldiers. Several companies of the One Hun dred aud Seventeenth foot hired the large hall of the "Heilige Geist," in Mayence, Germany, for the purpose of holding a ball, to' be attended only by members of that regiment. Toward ten o'clock, however, a ntimber of men be longing to other regiments garrisoned there, hussars and artillerymen, it would seem, who were amusing themselves be low in a smaller room open to all, went upstairs and tried to gain an entrance into the ballroom. But ingress was de nied them by the doorkeepers. They, therefore, endeavored to effect their pur pose by force, which was in turn by force frustrated. Several such attempts were made in the course of the evening, but nothing serious occurred till near midnight, when the officers of the One Hundred nud Seventeenth regiment went down to sup, leaving their men to continue the dancing in the hall above. At this junc t ire from fifteen to twenty men of the husBars went up ond desired to be ad mitted into the ballroom. This was re fused them, nnd they instantly drew their swords. A hand-to-hand encounter now began, and at the same time stones were thrown through the windows into the room below, where the officers were at supper, one of the missiles lighting on the table. A crowd of soldiers had assembled outside, aud as the shower of stones wos becoming thicker every moment, the officers summoned their men from the ballroom and made a dash out into the street, with the object of scattering their assailants. A violent struggle now en sued, which gradually drew the combat ants away in the direction of tke Schlos splntz, where the men of the One Hun dred and Seventeenth mauaged to get their bnyonets from their quarters and make a charge. From twenty to thirty men were more or leBs seriously wound ed, and a drummer was killed. The governor of the place ordered nil the men to be confined in their barracks nnd a strict investigation to be made. Thoughts for Saturday Nighl. The sweetest pleasure is in imparting it. Most pleasures, like flowers, when gathered, die. Amid the roses fierce repentance rears her snaky crest. Pleasures ore like poppies shed you c.iu seize the flower, its bloom is shed. The shadow of our pleasures is the pain that seems so suiely to follow them. There are occasions when the general belief of tho people, even though it be groundless, works its effect as sure as truth itself. Good breeding is benevolence in trifles, or the preference of others to ourselves in the little daily occurrences of li e. Tho pride of the heart is the attribute of honest men; pride of manners that of fools; the pride of birth nud rank is often the pride of dupes. The prejudices of ignorance are more easily removed thuu the prejudices of in terest; the first ore all blindly adopted, the second willfully preferred. If wo would amend the world, we should amend ourselves, and teach our children not to be what we ore ourselves, but what they shquld be. None are too wise to be mistaken, but few are so wisely just as to acknowledge aud correct their mistakes, and especially the mistake of prejudice. I should entertain a mean opinion of myself if all men, or the most pnrt, praised and ndmired me; it would prove me to be somewhat like them. High Heels and Crooked Shins. It is worthy of note that while a ma lignant hatred of Chinese individually is fomented under cover of hostility to their immigration, our females have fallen in love with Chinese costumes and customs, in somo respects, and accepted them as models. The pictures of Chinese ladies to which one has been accustomed for many years bear a close resemblance to the American belle of the present day. The repulsive hump, the crippled feet, and the mincing gait of our women, if they do not fortify the Darwinian theory of the origin of the species from monkeys, at least give me appearance of retrogra ding monkeyward. The dress, uncouth and deformed ns it is, would not of itself deserve notice; but the high heels, crip pling tho feet ond distorting the limbs, are an outrage ou grace, on anatomy, ou humanity, entitling the authors, could they bo detected, to criminal responsi bility. A convention of corn doctors in the interest of their trade could not devise a better scheme for good times. Women whose pedals are solidified may escape with only corns, of which we hope and pray they may have a f u'l and tender crop. But that a whole generation of little girls should have their toes jammed into the toes of their boots, to do the work of heels, and that their legs should be thrown out of their natural balance and the pliant bones bent into semi-circles, is a sacrifice to fashion which would disgrace a nation of Hottentots. Pacific Medical Journal. , Au Earnest Shepherd. A young man who lives on a farm near Bochnro, Australia, lately went to sleep on a sola after a hard clay s work, and had been lying there sometime when he got up and went outside. His com panions observed that ho walked with a staggering gait, but little notice was taken of the matter, us they expected him to rejoin them immediately. The somnambulist, for such he wus, passed through three or four gates, untying and retyiug the fastenings, which are made of rope, and made his way to tho wool shed. There he huug his coat upon a nail, took down a pair of shears he had been using iu the daytime, and proceed ed to sharpen them. He next caught a sheep, and had just finished shearing it, when he was' wakened bv tho sudden arrival of his friends, who had CJine with a lantern to search for him. The shock of awakening caused him to tremble like a leaf, but he soon regained his equanimity. The sheep was shorn as well as if the work had teen performed in broad daylight and the night was by no means a clear one. THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE. Its Exlrnl, I'opulnttou nnd Army. It is calculated that the empire of the czar extends over one-seventh of the lnnd surface of the globe and represents about one-twenty-sixth of its entire su perficial area. It is difficult to arrive nt the true area of Russia, on account of ttie obstacles that present themselves to the making of a general survey of such an immcuse extent of country. The nearest estimate, because it was deemed the most accurate, wns ninde in 1874, whereby the area of the empire was set down at 8,404,767 square miles. It is divided iuto two sections, the European aud Asiatic, the former having an area of about 86,039 square miles and a population of 63,658,934. This does not include either the kingdom of Po land, the grand duchy of Finland or the Caucasian provinces. The population of Russian Poland is 5,705,607 nnd its area 2,210 square miles. Finland has 1,843, 245 inhabitants ond on area of 6,835 square miles, and the Caucasus 4,661, 824 inhabitants and is 7,938 square miles in area. Russia iu Asia has an estimated population of 6,302,412, but these in habitants belong chiefly to the Nomadic tribes. The population of Russia is divided into three great groups, besides a va riety of national elements intermixed iu the general mass of the inhabitants. The Great Russians, or Vcliko Jiitss, number 35,000,000 and occupy the prov inces. The Little Russians, or Malo number about 11,000,000, ond form the bulk of the population in Pul tava, Kharkof, Chermgof, Kief, Vol hynia, Podolsk, Ekaterinoslaf and tho Lauridn. The white Russians, about 3,000,000 in number, nro found in Mont lef, Minsk, Vitebsk and Grodno. With these groups nre the Finns, 3,038,000; Lithuanians, 2,343,000; Jews, 1,631,000; Tartars, 2,500,000; Slavonians iu Poland and Lithuania, nbout 7,000,000, nnd Armenians, 2,000,000. From the above described population is drawn the regular army of the Rus sian empire. The armed force of Rus sia is composed of an active nnd a terri torial army. The first is divided into the land nnd marine forces. The land force comprises the regular troops anuunlly recruited throughout the empire; the re serves intended to complete the strength of the army to n war footing and com posed of men ou leave; the irregular troops, such as the Cossacks nnd the troops composed of foreign elements. The territorial army is formed by nil the male inhabitants of tho empire, be tween the oges of twenty ond forty, who are fit for military service ond not Al ready enrolled in the active or regular army. By n law of Jonuary 13, 1874, the military service is rendered obliga tory ou all Russian subjects, except in some of the most isolated districts of Siberia, Turkestan aud the transcaucas ian territory. Exceptions are, however, made in favor of certain professions, such as clergymen, doctors, etc. Tho duration of service in European Russia is fixed at fifteen years that is, six years iu the active nrmy and nine iu the re serves. Iu Asiatic Russia the term of service is limited to ten years, seven of which ore spent in the octive army and three in the reserves. Using the AVron? Word. People often use the wrong word in ignorunce; on example is the use of de pot for station. The latter is not only the proper English word, it is nlso the world's word. So, nt one time, they Bnid saloon, supposing this word to de scribe something more sumptuous than a parlor. Happily the word saloon went to tne baa. lu other enses there is fairly good reason for using the wrong word. 1'eopie generally know that cent is not a penny; nud yet the euphony reason for saying penny when a cent is meant fairly justifies common usage; cent is abrupt ana nnpiensant in sound We say Indians, meaning Americans. and knowing that our predecessors on this continent nre not Indians at all, aud that calling them the American Indians only makes the matter worse. Our reason is .that we wish to be considered Americans ourselves. So, nlso, the peo pie of the United States nre called Americans abroad, though they have no exclusive right to the title but what can they call us in one word ? The pro noun we helps us out partly, but we nre huu iu wuui oi n namo. To I)o Up Point Lace. Fill a goblet, or any other glass dish, with cold soapsuds made of the best quality of washing soap; put in your lace and place in a strong sunlight for several nours, otten squeezing the lace, anu cnangmg tne water U it seems necessary; when bleached, rinse gently in three or four waters, and, if you wish it ecru or yellowish white, dip it into a weak solution of clear cold coffee liouid: if you desire to stiffen it slightly, dip it into a very thin starch; provide yourself with a paper of fine needles, recall the form and looks of the collar when first purchased; take a good pin-cushiou. arrange your collar in the riuht form. and gently pick into place, and secure with the needles every point and figure 111 tllA lllO oa itn'n.ii'lian Sib4 imiAlinuol. leave it to dry, and press either between the leaves of a heavy book or lay between two pieces of flannel and pass a heated iron over it. Applique lace can be nicely wnshed by first sewing it carefully, right side down, to a piece of woolen flannel: wash, stiffen slightly, and press before removing irom the flannel. Tho BlIiuT. In England and Wales, iu the year 1851, there was one blind person to every 979; in Ireland, one to 878; in Scotland, ouo to every 900; nmkiug a common ratio of one to every 950. In Belgium the' proportion of blind to the other population is one in every 1,316; iu France, one in every 1,357; in the lower parts of Germany, one in 950; Prussia, ono in every 1,401; Suxouy, one in 1,666; Switzerland, one in 1,570; iu Sweden, one in 1,091. The popula tion in 1850 of blind, of deaf, of dumb, of insane, of idiotio, in the United States, numbered 50,994 being one blind person jtj every 2,868; in I860, one in 2,519, Items of Interest. The governor of Missouri has signed n Bounty bill, offering five cents each for rat scalps. There nre, at present, about ft dozen newspapers in this country printed in the Bohemian language. "Insults," says a modern philosopher, "nvn like counterfeit money. Wo can not, binder their beiua ofl'ered, but we nre not compelled to take them." It is announced that nt a recent West ern dinner party "nil the dishes were over a hundred years old." Cnn it be that there was nothing but spring chicken on the table ? General Grant remarked in Cincinnati that he experienced great pleasure in shaking a friend's hand now, knowing that the owner of said hand was not look ing for political favors. An exchange has an article on "I rain ing Oysters." Now we cant see what need there is of training such docile creatures. We never found the slightest difficulty in making them go just where we wanted them to. The particular voung man looking for a business to soot him, should try chim ney sweeping. And the ambitious young man, desiring a business in which he may rise in tne worm, snouia secure employment in a powder mill. He would go up sooner or later. A farmer iu Glenbuaiob. Perthshire, recently met with a fearful death. He was taking some hay to a place where there were several cattle running loose. In their anxiety to get at the provender the cattle jostled the farmer so violently that he fell and was trampled to death. A committee nppointed by the New York Academy of Medicine have report ed a plau favoring co-operative dispen saries among the laboring classes, mem bers of the associations to pay stipulated sums per week or month, and receive iu retnrn the services of a regular physician when needed. A bed of yellowish colored paint, covering au area of at least two ncres, and having n thickness of lour leet, nas been discovered near Cullman, Ala. The paint is found to be superior to ochre, as it cnn be worked without add ing white lead, and cannot be surpassed for water colors. The Japanese desperado disposes of his foe from behind. With two rapidly delivered blows of his razor-like sword he cleaves through the shoulder blades aud ribs of his former friend or enemy, as the case may be, and there is no more to be said. If his aim is incorrect and he misses his victim, he usually divides the door post of the house or the nearest thing that receives his impetus. There is an almost complete equality iu the world s sexes, lu France tins balance is most nearly attained, where for every 1,000 men there nre 1,007 women. In Sweden, to 1,000 men there nro 1,064 women, while in Greece, to the same number of males there are but 993 Greek women. In Paraguay there are only 1,000 men to every 2,080 women, a state of things mainly due to the ravages of the Brazilion war. Au account of the business failure of Si Keck of Cincinnati is pleasant reading despite pity for his misfortune. Ho was possessed of over a million dollars, was president of several moneyed institu tions, and estates were entrusted to his management. By a reverse in au im mense speculation he lost all he had; but nn examination of his affairs showed that not one of the institutions that he might have plundered had suf fered to the extent of a cent, and tho estates in his hands had not been touch ed. This is a bright examine in these days. Dr. Richardson, of England, who is now recognized as a high authority on matters of domestic hygiene, soys that sixty-two degrees Fahrenheit is the right degree of temperature for health, and that those engaged in literary or artistic work cannot possibly be too careful ou this point. If their labor be prolonged or severe, the temperature may be al lowed to run up to sixty-five degrees, or even seventy degrees. The same rule npplies to all sedentary persons and chil dren studying. Our rooms here are apt to be nt least ten degrees too hot for healthy persons. A French authority recommends tho use of sawdust instead of hair in mortar to prevent its peeling off. His own house, exposed to prolouged storms on the Bea coast, had patches of mortar to be renewed every spring, ond ofter try ing without effect a number of substi tutes, he found sawdust perfectly satis factory. It was first thoroughly dried and sifted through an ordinary grain sieve to remove the larger particles. The mortar was made by mixing one part cement, two lime, two sawdust and five sharp sand, the sawdust being first well mixed dry with the cement and sand. More Farmers Needed. The almost total cessation of immigra tion which is reported by those who know can be partially explained by the stagna tion of business; but an important fea ture of it can be traced to the neglect of States and the nation to devise induce ments for foreign agriculturists. At the present time, when life and property promise to be of uncertuin value in Europe, America should be receiving ship loads of small farmers. The indus try, economy and thrift of these people are sorely needed, as additional wealth and income would result to the State itself by the occupancy of lands which at present yield only prairie and forest fires, ague and rattlesnakes. It is not enough that such desirable persons should be offered homesteads that are too far irom markets to be available or too poor to have been attractive to profes sional land-grabbers. The experience of the general land- office is that even native Americans are slow to avail them selves oi the Homestead law. What, then, can be expected of foreigners ? It would be to the interest of every State to make special reservations of land for would-be settlers from abroad, decreasing the quantity if necessary to make up for the special value and advantages of the land. Further inducement might with profit be extended ; but this much, at least, is practicable everywhere, and would not be only inexpensive, but profitable. Neva York Herald, .
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers